


Walking the Wire

by FiniteWonderland



Category: Danny Phantom, Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Danny is a junior and Jazz is a senior, He and Falcon would have snark fests and I am HERE for it, He’s been underground a few months before Civil War, I basically plopped him and the basics into the MCU, I may be gay for her, I'm a slut for slowburns, M/M, Non phantom planet complient, Not Danny Phantom cannon compliant at ALL, Oh what a slow burn this is gonna be, Peter is aged up to 16, She deserves recognition, She is more than an angry ghost hunter, She would make a great avenger with black widow’s tutelage, Slowest of slowburns if i follow the plan, This is going to be a wild fix it, Valerie is a great character and I love her sue me, You know how gay people flock together without meaning to?, i hope I can finally finish a fic, idk if Dani will exist in my universe yet as much as I love her, if anyone wants to help me feel free, iron dad obviously, vlad also deserves a redemption because he is a terrible villain, who doesn’t love iron dad, yeah that happens
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-13
Updated: 2021-02-18
Packaged: 2021-03-07 03:00:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,143
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26439904
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FiniteWonderland/pseuds/FiniteWonderland
Summary: Danny would really like to know who let Aragon out of his damned prison in the Ghost Zone during the WORST time to be having a ghost attack in the MIDDLE OF NEW YORK ON STARK TOWER. This is going to be one wild butterfly affect.Inspired by Enigmaris' fic The Ghost of Heores. Credit where credit is due, after all.
Relationships: Danny Fenton/Peter Parker
Comments: 22
Kudos: 286





	1. Let There Be Light

_“The tiny nation of Wakanda is mourning the death of its monarch, King T’Chaka. The beloved ruler was one of many confirmed dead after a terrorist attack at the United Nations a week ago. The suspect has since been apprehended. Though it remains one of the poorest countries in the world, fortified by mountain ranges and an impenetrable rainforest, Wakanda does not engage in international trade or accept aid. The succession of the throne is expected to fall to the oldest of the king’s two children, Prince T’Challa.”_

Danny stole a glance at his mother, her gloved hand covering her mouth and a sickened look upon her features as she stares at the TV. She had been down trodden since the attack. Jazz has looked equally down, unsurprisingly. They had been keeping tabs on all the news concerning this matter. He, on the other hand, had been stressing about the Accords. 

While he had not been contacted on the matter yet, he was sure that it was coming. If Iron Man was backing it, he knew he would be expected to sign right on with the rest of the heroes. The best he could do was stay under the radar in Amity Park, keep fighting the ghosts off and not let them beyond the borders. Most people thought he and the rest of the ghosts were a hoax, a ploy to get tourism going in this little hick town. He was sure that the government was well beyond wise to what was going on. If he could keep up the facade that he was one hundred percent ghost, he might be able to stave off having to sign. 

The United Nations would certainly keep him from defending his town, if for no other reason than to show how much power they had over him. He couldn’t let them say when he could and couldn’t protect his town and the people within it. So far, he had been able to keep people from dying at the hands of the ghosts, but he couldn’t guarantee that if he was being kept from doing his job. 

All in all, this was more trouble than it was worth, but he could certainly see why the United Nations wanted to put the Avengers in check. They took on the big battles, the battles that could dictate the survival of their society and world. Battles with the hard hitting villains. Of course a lot of people died in the crossfire. It was to be expected, despite how unfortunate it was. He could see those governments wanting to protect their citizens, and that they probably truly believed that what they were doing was the correct thing. In reality, they could be making a grave mistake. He knew how hard it was to get a few people to agree on something, let alone over a hundred. More people would die while the panel was deciding if they should send the heroes in or not. In circumstances such as those, time was of the essence, and it would take enough time for them to get where they needed to go to begin with. 

This was definitely not a compromise, as far as he was concerned. This was forcing a group of people to submit to another. He was still on the fence about if it was justified on the part of the United Nations. Had they truly weighed the cost of life? Would more people have died if the heroes hadn’t stepped in? In the battle of New York, undoubtedly. Sokovia? It was questionable. While not everything had been released to the public, the blame had been squarely planted on Stark’s shoulders. Lagos? That was a toss up as well. Avengers business was heavily guarded, only being released on a need to know basis. 

On second thought, maybe this was justified, even if the United Nations was going about it the wrong way. They had to know the backlash they would receive if a catastrophe happened and they hadn’t let the Avengers step in. The Avengers were always concerned about civilian lives. They didn’t just let those people die for the hell of it. 

“On a more positive note, Queens has seen the rise of a new hero!” Danny turns his attention back to the TV, intrigue blooming in his gut. A clip of someone in a red and blue suit swinging between buildings is shown. “Our sources say that this new hero, Spider-Man, was seen operating with the Avengers only a few days ago in pursuit of the rogue Avengers and the Winter Soldier. He is now back at his home base taking down everyday criminals and aiding the police,” A new face is shown. 

“How exciting! Thank you, Lisa. The time is 7:36. Coming up at 8-” The TV is switched off. Danny looks to his mother as she stands, a false air of excitement surrounding her. 

“It’s time you guys got off to school! Have a good day, alright?” She first kisses Danny on his forehead, then Jazz. 

“Yeah, Mom. See you after,” Jazz gives her mother a weak smile, then leads Danny out of the door and into her old beat up Beetle. 

“You alright?” He asks her when they’ve made it halfway to school. She’s usually never this quiet. Even on her quieter days, she would still blabber on, talking about projects, interesting research she’d read about or asking him how his school work was going. Lately, she’d been discussing her college applications and asking if he’d rather her stay close to aid him in ghost hunting when she could. He had assured her that he would be fine, and so far she’d been considering colleges in California and New York. 

“Why wouldn’t I be?” 

“I know you, and this,” He motions up and down at her with his hands. “Is not you. So tell me what’s wrong.” 

“I don’t know. All this with the Accords, and this terrorist attack. It’s always sad when people die in a catastrophe. More countries than just Wakanda lost their leader, y’know? And those third world countries are already in enough turmoil as it is. Not to mention you. I’m afraid the government is going to come after you with the Accords, and the only reason they wouldn’t is because they don’t see you as a hero. You already have enough to deal with with the GIW. And everything else. I’m just worried, I guess.” 

As much as he acts like he doesn’t like his sister, he truly whole heartedly does and loves her. She’s always wanting the best for him, always at his back, always covering for him. She’s always there when he needs her, and always willing to drop what she’s doing if he needs her to. She’s the best sister anyone could ask for, and he’s wholeheartedly grateful to have her. He truly could trust her with his life, and he is glad to say that he would do the same for her, even if he acts like he wouldn’t, even if she could be annoying at times. 

It’s also why he feels guilty about not telling her that he is unequivocally a bi individual. He just didn’t feel the need to say anything. Why did coming out have to be such a big deal? He didn’t think that it should be, but everyone held such stock in it. Everyone that supported it, at least. He has enough to deal with, and he’d had his fair share of mental breakdowns about having to add being queer on top of it. A bi half ghost super hero that the government and every ghost hunter alive wanted to capture and disect? It’s a lot. And… he has to admit to himself that he is a little scared. He knows he has nothing to fear, his friends and family would undoubtedly support him, the scientific and modern people that they were, but it was still scary. It would change…. Something. He didn’t know what, but it would. He prefers to not think about it. He, again, has enough to worry about. 

“You don’t have to worry so much. As long as I keep my head down and don’t let someone die, it’ll be fine,” He tries to reassure her, but he can see in her forced smile that it doesn’t work. “I love you,” He tells her grudgingly after a tense, quiet moment. She probably needs to hear it, despite the gross feeling that builds in the back of his throat that is trying to keep the words from spilling out. 

She gives him a small, genuine smile. “Love you, too.” 

Before they go their separate ways, he makes sure to rope his arm around her neck to pull her into a side hug. He’s a head taller than her now. He’s probably going to be about as tall as his father, which he wasn’t looking forward to. He was perfectly happy where he was, being 6’2 was not the ideal.

He makes it to first period with thirty seconds to spare, plopping down next to Valerie. The nice thing about Junior year was that half the teachers didn’t feel the need to give them a seating chart as long as they behaved. 

“Cutting it close, Fenton?” She gives him a teasing smile, playfully pushing on his bicep. Her hair is as puffed out into a halo as ever, green eyes shining with mirth and ruffled red summer dress complimenting her skin tone perfectly. Damn her being a morning person. 

“Yeah, Mom and Jazz were watching the news,” He gives her a small, teasing smile back. 

She looks downcast for a moment. “Y’know, I do think you have what it takes to be an Avenger,” She whispers, continuing her playful tone. 

“I will when you do,” He whispers back as the teacher calls their attention. This had been an ongoing argument between the two since Valerie had found out about him being Phantom. She had insisted that he was Avenger material since day one, and they would constantly go back and forth on the matter. He knew she idolized Black Widow, and that she would make an equally great, if not better than him, Avenger with a little training. While he was sure that they would continue their banter, it was up in the air if either of them should actually become Avengers if the chance ever arose, at least in the current political climate. 

When Valerie had first discovered that he was Phantom, she had been shocked, not talked to him for a few days, then accepted it. She hadn’t been angry, surprisingly, just accepting, then she joined in with helping him fight ghosts. It had worked out great, as they could schedule who was doing what when. As much as they could, anyway. She could take the nuisance ghosts, the ones he was sure she wouldn’t get hurt squabbling with, and he could battle the harder to thermos ones. They also tag teamed often, cutting down the amount of time they spent actually needing to fight. This allowed him more time for sleep and homework. He’d even managed to pull his grades up, which his parents and Jazz had been ecstatic about. While he didn’t have straight A’s, he didn’t have straight D’s anymore either. He’d actually be able to graduate on time, which meant the world to him. 

While being an astronaut was a pipe dream now, at least he wouldn’t be a high school dropout to boot. He actually had a chance at going to college, even if he had to start at the local community college. Studying astronomy was still a possibility, a possibility which he was greatly considering. Life was, admittedly, getting better. The importance of having connections and friends was becoming blatantly obvious. Without Sam, Tucker and Valerie’s help, he certainly wouldn’t be where he is now, just two years after acquiring his ghostly abilities. He hates to think about what he could have been without them. 

When lunch time rolls around, talk is all about the new hero, Spider-Man. It encases the lunch room like a blanket, and the conspiracies are already flying. A few hero stalkers proudly proclaim that they’d known about Spider-Man the moment he began operating as a hero, well before many other people. They also claimed they knew all there was to know about him, or at least everything that was searchable on the internet. 

On the other hand, Danny, Sam, Tucker and Valerie didn’t much care. They had their own spot under a tree at a bench and table that happened to be right outside the gym, a prized spot on days of good weather. Tucker usually managed to snag it for them, as he had gym right before their lunch period. 

While they hadn’t been in the Spider-Man gossip with the rest of the student body, they themselves weren’t immune either. 

“What do you think of the new hero?” Sam asks Danny, folding her hands in front of her on the table. All eyes turn to him. 

“What do I think? He’s cool, I guess. What’s your point?”

“My point is, dolphins,” Sam gives a shit eating grin, and the entire table groans and/or laughs at her reference. “In all seriousness, he’s young, or at least rumored to be. He’s new, operating with the Avengers. You should totally try to befriend him.” 

“Yeah! He has a twitter, hit him up with your Phantom twitter and welcome him to the scene,” Tucker interjects, giving him a shit eating grin. 

“No! You guys know I need to stay on the down low with the Accords.” 

“You can’t be afraid of the Accords, Danny,” Valerie says. “If I’m completely honest, I’m probably more likely to be asked to sign than you are. Only people that operate through S.H.I.E.L.D. and that can be traced back as being a citizen to countries signing onto the Accords are being asked to sign. And, they legally can’t even ask Spider-Man to sign because Stark claims he’s a minor.”

“The fuck do you know all that? We technically aren’t even supposed to know about S.H.I.E.L.D, let alone about who they can and can’t ask to sign the Accords,” Danny says. 

“Vlad supplied me with the information about S.H.I.E.L.D. and the rest is public information, it just hasn’t been broadcast for obvious reasons. It’s called research, something you wouldn’t know about.” 

Sam gives a laugh, Danny gives them both offended looks. “I research plenty!” 

“Who helps you on all your research projects?” Valerie asks him. He just glowers at her. “That’s what I thought.” 

“Really though, Danny. Think about it. It’s good publicity, even if only for the people here. It could also help with deflating tension with the government. They most likely have you on a watch list, and if they don’t, S.H.I.E.L.D. certainly does. You need to be on that list as a hero, not a villain,” Sam says. 

“She has a point. Plus, the upside is if the Accords Counsel does get involved, they’re funding security and safety projects to aid in knocking out villains and preserving lives. Just think, funding for high tech ghost shields to be built and running at all times, productive scientific research on ghosts that isn’t ripping them apart to see what makes them tick, and funding to improve the city’s infrastructure and architecture to make the area more stable against ghost attacks. You’d hardly even be needed here anymore with that kind of backing,” Tucker chatters excitedly. “You wouldn’t be busy every day fighting ghosts.” 

“I like my job, thanks. But, I’ll think about it. What you’re saying sounds great, but it’s the least likely to happen. That’s a huge thing to come from just welcoming a fellow hero onto the scene. It has to be the most obnoxious butterfly effect I’ve ever heard of.”

But, it does get him thinking. Could a lot of good really come from this? From him getting involved with the Accords? 

He supposes its possible, but from what he’s learned over the last two and a half years, he can’t deny that a lot of bad could come from it as well, and it was more likely to happen. Murphy's law and all that. This was another unknown that he preferred to not tamper with. 

At the same time, he knew Val was right. He couldn’t be operating out of fear. That was the last thing he wanted. 

……..

A few days later finds a breaking news report on the Fenton’s television. Of course, on the Saturday he’d planned to spend the day with Sam, Tucker and Valerie on a mini road trip to lake Michigan. 

He stares in disbelief as Aragon of all ghosts is demolishing New York, right down the street from Stark Tower. The theories are flying. Is this another alien invasion? Is this some monster from some evil organization sent to take out the Avengers by surprise? Is Loki back with a vengeance with some creature from some far off planet to exact his revenge? 

It was a load of bullshit as far as Danny was concerned. He was the only one that knew the truth. Unless Aragon detransformed, it wouldn't be known by the public outside of Amity that he was a ghost. 

It was taking the Avengers absurdly long to respond, thanks to the Accords council. And even then, only Vision and War Machine were the only ones that would be any kind of help. Iron Man was just responding, War Machine and Vision nowhere to be seen as of yet. 

Valerie let herself in, surprising- and annoying- Danny. 

“Are we just gonna sit here or get going, Fenton?” She asks. 

“Who said I wanted to go and help? OW!” He recoils at the fist that strikes his bicep with surprising force. “We’ll make it in about ten minutes through the Zone.”


	2. Keeps Getting Better and Better

The coolest thing Danny had happened to learn over the last two years was reality ripping from Wulf. The second coolest thing he’d learned was that all doors within the Ghost Zone didn’t only lead to rooms that were inhabited by other ghosts. Some of these doors were portals to the living world, but not all ghosts could open them. They had to have a certain amount of power to be able to do so. He happened to be one of the ones that could open pretty much any portal he wanted, especially after Wulf had taught him to rip portals open through reality. 

The problem was, of course, figuring out which doors were portals and which ones were rooms inhabited by ghosts. Exploring this had gotten him into more fights than he could count, some more problematic than others. 

The ones he did figure out were put into his Ghost Zone database. It also helped that these doors moved through the Ghost Zone slower than others. The doors and realms within the Ghost Zone were not stagnant, they drifted slowly through space. By marking where these portals were, he could estimate about where they would be the next time he looked for them. Tucker had managed to create a coding system that would estimate about where they would be after a few months of tracking their coordinance. 

The particular portal he was looking for happened to open up over Brooklyn. There were two portals that opened over New York State. One opened over Buffalo, the other opened over Brooklyn. It was easier to open a portal through a door than to rip one into reality, especially when he needed to conserve his energy for the imminent battle. Ripping portals into reality sucked the energy from him, and he tried to not do it if he didn’t have to. If he couldn't find the portal that opened over Brooklyn, he was going to have to drain his energy to rip one over New York, and hope that was where he ripped it open to. 

Tucker, and him, hadn’t thought to specify which portals opened over where, just that they opened over New York State. The portals were not even close together. The one that opened over Buffalo was a twenty-five minute Specter Speeder sprint from the one that opened over Brooklyn. He had to hope that the closest one to his parent’s portal was the one that opened over Brooklyn, as himself and Valerie hadn’t bothered with the Specter Speeder and were going their respective Ghost Zone top speeds toward the portal, which was a ten minute journey for them. 

Luckily for them, once Danny pulled the door open, they were met with Brooklyn’s busy streets. 

“How lucky was that, Mr. I didn’t think to put down which part of New York State the door leads to?” Valerie snarks as they pass through the portal. 

“Give it a rest already, will ya? I’ll be more thorough from now on, alright?” Danny gripes at her as he shuts the portal and they angle themselves toward Manhattan. 

“I can’t believe neither of you had enough of a brain cell to think of that,” Danny would have snapped at her if it wasn’t for her teasing tone. She was far from serious, even if the words were true. She lived to tease him and Tucker, and took any possibility available, even more than Sam. By the time they were halfway there, they could see the big black and green dragon spitting neon green fire at what they assumed to be Iron Man. Within a minute they see Iron Man’s red and gold suit flipping through the air before hitting the bright glass windows of a building. They catch sight of Spider-Man as well. He must have just joined the frey, though he was swinging around in an attempt to find a weak spot to hit. 

“Didn’t anyone tell you that rampaging a city full of people is dangerous?” Danny booms out, and he isn’t prepared for the angry fire spat in his direction. Valerie and himself barely escape the blaze in time. 

“You little bastard!” Aragon roars, jumping to try to catch the ghost between his teeth. Danny distracts him as Valerie gets a hit in with a blaster, though Aragon doesn’t seem to feel it. 

“Who let you out of your prison?” Danny asks, more than willing to go after the ghost that had let this nuisance free. He just had to gather that information. He could see Valerie ready with a Fenton Thermos. Aragon was fixated solely on him, a huge mistake. He’s be taking this thermos to Clockwork, since his current prison wasn’t secure enough. 

“Wouldn’t you like to know, you little wretch?” Aragon cackles, spreading his wings and using them as makeshift fly swatters. Danny isn't able to dodge the wing that comes at him in time, and he's launched toward the ground, turning intangible in the nick of time before his body turns into a splatter. He was still going to be bruised later from the blow, though he had had much worse. Now he was just getting angry. He shoots back into the air, fists clenched. At the very least, Aragon hadn't gotten any more creative since the first time Danny had battled him, and Danny had only improved and gotten stronger.  
“You’re going back whether you like it or not, so you better tell me who it was so I can go kick their ass!” 

“On the contrary, you insolent little thing. If you go to him, it will be _you_ that looses your life,” Aragon’s face contorts into a bastardization of a smile, then he opens his maw to release another burst of flames. Danny’s irritation skyrockets as he dodges the green flames once more. 

“Alright, that’s it. Red Huntress?” Danny calls, and Aragon is sucked into the thermos in Valerie’s hand, kicking and screaming for all intents and purposes. They both take in the damage around them. Buildings are demolished, the streets are littered with debris and over turned cars, and there are only a few straggling people heading in the opposite direction. The building Iron Man had been knocked into, they just now noticed, was Stark Tower. Aragon had done a lot of damage, more than just a few blocks worth. 

“We should look to see if anyone got hurt,” Danny says after a moment, hovering in the air next to Valerie. She gives him a look he can’t see through her visor. This was more damage than they had ever seen in Amity Park. 

“No, we shouldn’t. There’re already emergency services on the ground. If this was Amity Park, I’d agree, but we’re in the middle of Manhattan. You were the one so worried about the Accords and being roped into them. Let Iron Man handle it,” Valerie says, and Danny can hear the worry in her voice. This wasn’t like Valerie. She always wanted to help people, make sure everyone was okay. But he knew she had a point. This was bad publicity, and no amount of aid from them or news coverage would aid that. They aren’t a part of the Accords, so what they just did was illegal vigilantism. Not to mention, Iron Man had just battled Aragon for nearly a half hour and didn’t make any headway, and they got him under control in a fraction of that time. It was dawning on him _exactly_ what people were going to think, what the media was going to say. It was the same thing the people and media in Amity Park had said for _years_ before Valerie had started working with him and they started trusting him. “Oh, shit. Here comes Iron Man. We need to get out of here.”

At Valerie’s words his head turns to find Iron Man less than a few hundred feet away from them and closing in quickly. Danny puts himself between Valerie and Tony Stark, his hands raised defensively. “I’m gonna have to rip a portal open to get home,” he says quietly over his shoulder, and just like that, Tony Stark is less than ten feet infront of them, his hands up in a placating gesture. 

“That was impressive,” Stark begins, an air of sarcasm coloring his tone. “I couldn't even phase — what was that? A dragon? I couldn’t phase whatever that was for nearly a _half hour_ and you show up and have him subdued in less than three minutes?” They both could hear the irritation as well as intrigue from the hero. He was not happy about being shown up by two teenagers. 

“We deal with his kind on a daily basis, sir,” Valerie says from behind him in a firm voice, the same voice she uses with Vlad. 

“Oh do you now? His kind? What exactly is ‘his kind?’” He asks. They had heard this tone from him before, in interviews where he wasn’t a fan of the person interviewing him and he thought them irritating, though maybe that wasn’t the correct connotation. It was more along the lines of how a disapproving parent sounded interrogating their teenager. 

“It doesn’t matter. We handled it and we weren’t the reason for him coming here,” Danny says defensively. 

“Woo!” Catches their attention from atop an adjacent building. “That was so awesome! You guys took him down so fast!” Spider-Man calls enthusiastically, waving at them from his perch in an excited manner. 

“Damn it, Kid! I told you to stay low!” Stark yells in an exasperated tone before lowering his forehead onto his fist. If he wasn't in a metal suit, Danny could have sworn he would be pinching the bridge of his nose. 

Danny takes the opportunity of the distraction, ripping a portal open and pulling Valerie by her arm behind him. The last thing he hears is Stark’s voice call: “Hey! Shit! F.R.I.-” 

He gives a sigh of relief. They’re in the Ghost Zone, far from the Fenton Portal. Close enough to Clockwork’s, but it would be a hell of a flight home. If he was honest with himself, he’s exhausted. Having to rip portals open always drained his energy, and he hadn’t gotten the best sleep the night before. 

He was definitely ready for a nap. 

“We need to take this to Clockwork,” Danny tells Valerie, the tiredness plain in his tone. She pulls her helmet off, looking utterly surprised. 

“I thought you weren’t supposed to take anyone to see Clockwork?” 

“He prefers I don’t, but he never told me not to. Plus Sam and Tucker would interrogate him for hours on end, so I just tell them Clockwork doesn’t want anyone but me to visit him from outside of the Zone.” 

“Yeah that sounds like them,” Valerie rolls her eyes, and before they know it, they’re quickly approaching the old castle Clockwork resides in. Clockwork meets them at the door, like he always does, with an expecting smile upon his features. 

“Danny, I see you’ve brought Miss Gray along this time. It’s very nice to meet you,” Clockwork greets them with a nod, his shape forever shifting from young to old and everything in between. Valerie returns her own greeting nod, but keeps quiet. 

“I have another Thermos for you,” Danny says, holding the thermos out to Clockwork, who takes it from his hand. 

“I’ll keep it safe,” Clockwork’s smile falls from his features as he takes the full Thermos into his own hands. 

“Danny, I am very glad you came to see me today. I feel that I must warn you, the future has changed dramatically for you after today, and I cannot deny that I am very worried.” 

Danny, despite the shock of fear he feels through his core, smiles. “C’mon, it can’t be that bad. Besides, I though you weren’t supposed to tell me things like that.”

“I am not, but when it comes to you I have a hard time keeping to the rules. The futures of the Avengers have now intertwined with yours, and the paths for you have now narrowed down to two for quite some time. I cannot say anymore, but I want you to know that I am concerned, and I hope that you choose the right path, though I have no doubt you will. You can always come here when everything gets to be too much for you.”

“Clockwork…” Danny is at a loss for words. Clockwork is a quiet ghost, he rarely says a lot, and when he does it holds a lot of meaning. Danny truly does love Clockwork, as a mentor, as a fatherly figure that was more like the uncle he seen once a year but was the most awesome person to be around and who he learned a lot from every time they spoke. This must mean something like what happened with Dan was coming, and Aragon had been the catalyst. This brought to the forefront every insecurity he had about turning into Dan again, in a different way. He had to remind himself that he was past that, and there was no way Clockwork was going to allow it to happen again. _He_ wasn’t going to allow it to happen again. 

“No need for words. I can see you’re exhausted, go get some rest, you’re going to need it,” Clockwork gives a reassuring smile before shutting the castle doors. 

“What was that about?” Valerie asks quietly.

“I don’t know, but whatever it is it’s going to be big, and I hope I’m not the cause of the problem.” 

By the time they make it back to Fenton Works, things have already went down. Valerie and himself are greeted by his excited parents pattering on to Jazz about some big opportunity in the living room, and when they see him, they start in again.

“Danny!” Maddie calls excitedly. “We got a call from Tony Stark! Can you believe it?!”

“Over the ghost attack in New York!” Jack calls in, almost dancing in his excitement. 

“He’s going to be flying out to Amity to meet with us to discuss ghosts and the town and the work we do, and if everything goes well he’s going to have us fly out to New York to have a conference with investors to speak about mass producing our inventions!” Maddie continues on, shuffling pages in he hands, most likely an attempt to pull blueprints for their best inventions to show off. 

Danny and Valerie share looks. There was no way in Hell it was “investors” they were going to be meeting with. It was most likely S.H.I.E.L.D. or some other offshoot secret agency that was a better kept secret than S.H.I.E.L.D. and wanted to buy the designs for themselves. They would operate through Stark Industries, without a doubt, and acquire the weapons they needed for this new threat. His parent’s inventions were too dangerous to mass produce for the public. 

“That’s great, guys. When is he going to be here?” Danny asks, an air of caution peppering his tone. 

“He said he was flying out immediately, he’ll be here for dinner. Oh no! What are we going to do for dinner?!” Maddie cries, realization hitting her like a bucket of ice water. 

“I got it, Mom. I’ll make something. It won’t be as fancy as meals Mr. Stark is used to, but it’ll be good.” Jazz smiles and stands. “You guys just get your paperwork ready. Do you want to go with me, Danny? We can take Valerie home before we go shopping.” 

“That’s a great idea,” Valerie calls, and gives a hard look to Danny when he gives her a betrayed look. 

“There’s some money in my purse, Jazz, take whatever you need.” Maddie calls as she rushed down to the Lab to find whatever other items she needed in the mess that the Lab currently was. 

With money and keys in hand, they pile into Jazz’s old crappy Beetle. As soon as the doors close, Jazz’s head hits the steering wheel. 

“Did you two know about this?” Jazz groans, her voice hard.

“No!” Danny says. “It isn’t our fault Aragon got loose, that’s what caused all this!” 

“This is a disaster. This could go either really good or really bad, you know our parents. They’re going to find some way to screw this up, I just hope Mr. Stark is easy going enough to give them some type of pass.”

“There’s no way Iron Man wants to talk to your parents just because, S.H.I.E.L.D. has to be a part of this too. If they know your parents can make the weapons to fight the ghosts, they’re going to go there instead of putting their resources into trying to develop the tech themselves, and Stark won’t manufacture those types of weapons for anyone but himself.” Valerie says. “You have to let the adults play this out, there isn’t anything we can do but wait.” 

The siblings have no other option than to agree with her. 

“What are you making for dinner, sister of mine? I think you might have screwed yourself over.” Danny says as he pulls his seatbelt on. Jazz is finally backing out of the driveway. 

“Hardly, you know Mom is way too excited to do anything other than gather up her presentation, and she isn’t the best cook to begin with. I have the best chance of making something Mr. Stark would hopefully enjoy. I don’t even know what to make, though.”

“You could make pasta, that’s always easy and good,” Valerie suggests. 

“Yeah, we need more than pasta, though.”

Valerie ends up going to the grocery store with them, and she gathers all of the ingredients they need for a nice dinner. It would have to be steak, salad, fettuccine alfredo, and a risotto that Jazz would hopefully not screw up. 

Jazz puts Danny on salad duty when they make it back to the house, and he’s happy to oblige. It gives him something to do other than homework and he can whisper to Jazz about what had happened with Stark earlier, and about what Clockwork had said. Before they know it, the doorbell rings.

“Can you get that, Danny? It’s probably Mr. Stark,” Jazz says with an air of hysteria. 

“No, it’s probably Tucker, I told him not to come but he’d take any opportunity to talk to Stark that he could.” With a roll of his eyes, he goes to open to door. 

The last thing he expects to see is Tony Stark in full Iron Man get up, minus the helmet, standing at his front door. He can tell immediately that Stark recognizes him. 

Shit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about the wait, everyone. I moved, like twice in the last two months, have college classes, and started a new job, which will hopefully lead into a career. The last few months have been rough. Anyway, enjoy this chapter. I don’t know when the next one will be, just that I want to at some point keep this story going somewhat consistently.


End file.
